Please cut and paste this email, feel free to personalize, or write your own. Please find email addresses at end of post to cut and paste into your browser. Thankyou so much for your support!

Dear Governor Walker,

With all due respect, sir, Alaska must take responsibility to protect the Alexander Archipelago Wolves on Prince of Wales. Protecting this imperiled species is the state agencies’ obligation to their citizens.

Scientists and conservationists assert that the Archipelago wolf population has plummeted to a dangerously low population, and that distributions are no longer sufficient to maintain genetic viability. More importantly, existing regulations (which have not been adhered to) with the failing taxpayer supportedlogging projects on Prince of Wales are not adequate enough protection to ensure persistence of population numbers of this unique species.

Fish and Game’s report estimated that the wolf population on and around Prince of Wales in fall 2014 was between 50 and 159, and more than likely approximately 89 wolves, down from the estimated population of 250 to 350 in 1993. This report also stated that females have been reduced to only 25 % of the plummeting population, completely compromising the wolves’ ability to recover from their decline, not to mention maintaining any sort of genetic diversity! The 2014 estimate does not account for the 29 wolves reported taken in the 2014/2015 winter hunting and trapping season, nor does it account for any illegal takes during that time or since, which studies indicate are substantial.

Prince of Wales Island is the most heavily logged part of southeast Alaska, with the Forest Service disregarding and circumventing its road density standard and guidelines, creating a high road density which goes hand in hand with uncontrollable wolf poaching. Big Thorne’s 46 miles of new roads would add to 580 miles in that project area already with another 37 miles which would be reopened or reconstructed putting the wolf at even greater risk.

The federal government failed to heed research by Dr. David K. Person, a former Alaska Fish and Game wildlife biologist and foremost expert on Alexander Archipelago wolves. A formal declaration by Person says that Big Thorne would “break the back” of the ecosystem dynamic between the wolves, deer and hunters on the island.

The Wildlife Trust Doctrine, a branch of the Public Trust Doctrine, defines the obligation of the states responsibility and obligation to its citizens, and dictates that wildlife has no owners at all, and therefore belongs to all citizens equally. As a result, states have a “sovereign trust obligation” to ensure that wildlife resources are protected and managed responsibly, including the wolf, not just for the benefit of current citizens, but also over the long term. The Wildlife Trust Doctrine imposes a duty to ensure proper protection for the Alexander Archipelago wolf, as well as any other species no longer (or never) protected by the federal government.

Again, I respectfully request that you implement emergency measures to protect the few remaining Archipelago Wolves and their habitat, beginning with canceling the 2015-2016 hunt.

Thankyou for your time and consideration of this extremely important matter,

Your name, and please include your address.

My apologies, you will have to cut and paste these addresses (below) into your email manually as linking them would have brought you to the government websites. My apologies for the inconvenience.